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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Welcome to the Bake Sale and Raffle! We are ready to raise a lot of money that is going to be donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS). I wanted to get involved and help raise money for this when my dear friend Stacey signed up to ride with Team in Training (Team Minnesota) in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe. If you want to read more about Stacey's involvement in the bike ride, please click here. The money raised will help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

A HUGE thank you to all the amazing bloggers that have offered to donate some of their amazing talents to baking for us all. Now, instead of just seeing their amazing foods online, you can bid on them, and enjoy them for yourself!

Now for the rules. I hate to be a rule enforcer, but with an event and bidding, we must have some rules!

Bake Sale Rules:

All bids are to be emailed to sugarcookiestopeterbilts@yahoo.com The item you are bidding on must be listed in the subject line of the email. The dollar amount of your bid should also be in the subject line. Dates of the bake sale are May 2nd, 12 pm through May 5th, 6 pm. All times listed are Central Time (CST)The minimum opening bid is $5. All following bids must be higher than the last posted bid, and be in increments of $5.I will update prices during the day.Shipping is to US addresses only, unless noted otherwise.Baked goods will ship within one week, unless noted otherwise. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 6.At the close of bidding, I will email the winning bidders with instructions for payment, as well as obtaining address for shipment of the winning item.All payments must be made via paypal.Raffle RulesFor every $5 donated (via paypal), 1 raffle ticket is earned. ($20 donation earns 4 tickets)Shipping is to US addresses only, unless noted otherwise.Donations for raffle tickets may be made May 2nd, 12 pm through May 5th, 9 pm CST.Winners will be announced on Monday, May 6.Random.org will be used to select the winners at the close of the auction. The first number drawn, will have their choice of prizes. The second number will get to chose between remaining prizes. Third number will also choose, and the fourth number will be notified of their prize.

Ice Cream Package!Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (available in many funky colors!)Included with the Ice Cream Maker are the books: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream by Jeni Britton Bauer.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Those of you who follow me on facebook probably already read about Truckin' Man's issue this weekend. We had no cookies in the house! A week ago, he had asked that I back off the cookies, we had to many and his waist line was suffering. No problem by me. Believe me, if he doesn't want them in the truck, I certainly don't need them sitting here tempting me! But, a week later when there are no cookies around, he was starting to panic and needed his cookie fix.

Here is a link to the bike ride that Stacey is riding in that we are working on this fundraiser for. America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. I remember when she first told me about it, it sounded so pretty and scenic. But, then comes the work! I am glad she will be staying in Utah for a while after the ride to enjoy the scenery and reward herself after all this training.

Here is the last in my series of recipe from Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook. The fundraiser will start this Thursday, with some of the most amazing treats you have ever seen. I really don't know how I am going to keep from bidding on all of them myself! This recipe was a little different for me, the ingredients are listed in weight, not quantity. I've always wanted to try a recipe that gave weight measurements. Why? I don't know, I guess because it's something I have never done. It was a little more tedious, but the cookies did turn out perfect! The only change I made to the recipe, was using M&M's. The cookbook used chocolate chunks, and when you have M&M's, that's what you use! And, I did not know this until I made them, but Truckin' Man has never had a cookie with M&M's!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugars on low speed, until creamy and no lumps remain. Add the peanut butter and continue to mix on low speed. Add the vanilla and eggs slowly. Mix until completely combined.

In separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add to the cream mixture, mixing on low speed until combined. Add the M&M's, mixing until M&M's are evenly mixed through the dough.

Drop by tablespoons unto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or just until turning golden. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to baking rack.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I love that I promised you all a series of posts out of Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook. It was an intro to the fund raiser and sharing a little bit with you about the lady whose memory these funds are being raised for, and about my friends training efforts for the bike ride. But you know what else, what a great way this has been to get me to try new recipes! It's really been fun.

The days are counting down. . . . . . We have one week left before the bake sale and raffle start. I am so excited! We have a great line up of bloggers who are donating to the bake sale. You will be excited too!

The days are also counting down for when my friend, Stacey, leaves for Utah to go on her bike ride. She is still training hard, but the weather is not cooperating or being her friend. Several of their last training bike rides have been cancelled due to snow. The pictures she has sent me of these recent snow falls have been completely uncalled for in April! They have made me really appreciate the fact that I do not live in Minnesota any longer!

On to today's recipe! This is a Baked Ham Loaf. In the cookbook, right below the recipe title, are parentheses (A Church Lady Favorite). I am not sure if this has a specific family meaning to it, but I know that Mary was very active with her church, so in my mind, this was a favorite for her to make for her family and friends to enjoy after Sunday church!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine ground ham, ground pork, and ground beef. Add your peanut butter to a small bowl and microwave for 10 seconds, just to soften it a little bit. Mix the cereal, eggs, peanut butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to the meat mixture. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Shape into a loaf, and place in a roasting pan. Set aside.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar, mustard and vinegar. Stir well. Baste loaf with sauce. Bake loaf in preheated oven for 1 hour. Baste the loaf every 15 - 20 minutes with more of the sauce.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

This is my first time participating in Surprise Recipe Swap. Thanks to Jutta at Hungry Little Girl for organizing this fun event! I thought it sounded like a great idea to meet some new bloggers and a fabulous way to try some new recipes!

The blog I got to check out was Curious Cuisiniere. It was great getting to read through Sarah's blog and recipes. She is another Wisconsin girl, so that made her blog even more fun for me to read. It was so hard to pick a recipe, as they all sounded so good. Once I clicked around into her recipe index, I was so excited to see in her Main Dishes category, she broke the recipes down by protein type, including a Venison category! I am frequently cooking with venison, so I am always looking for new idea's and it was just so fun for me to see someone else that cooks with it as much as I do!

Once I found the venison category, it did not take me long to decide on Coffee Spiked Venison Sloppy Joe. We loved the flavor that Sarah packed into these. As usual, this was a large batch for the two of us, so I just freeze the leftovers in a cupcake pan. Super easy to take out a portion for dinner, or to even send along with Truckin' Man in the truck. The only thing I changed to Sarah's recipe was to add some green bell pepper, and that was just because I love bell pepper in as many things as possible!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

This is the second recipe I am sharing from Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook. This time I chose to share Rosemary Parmesan Bread. It's a yeast bread, and it's a braid. Was I up for the challenge? Sure!! Sadly, it was not successful. But, I was not going to be defeated by a loaf of bread! I called for help to my new friend that does so much baking, and she was a life saver! She has given me a better understanding of working with yeast, and she reviewed the recipe and showed me how to reorganize the steps and I ended up with the most beautiful loaf of bread I have baked to this day. This was the first time I have ever purchased fresh rosemary, and I loved it. It's a lovely flavor. I do hope you will try this bread.

Don't forget about the big event coming up the next month. My friend, Stacey, is participating in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To help Stacey out with her fundraising, we will be having a bake sale and raffling off several prizes to raise money for her cause. The bake sale will start on May 2nd. Be sure to be signed up for email and facebook, so you get all the updates!

Dissolve yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in the 1/4 cup of lukewarm water. Set aside.

To large mixing bowl add milk, olive oil, salt, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, minced rosemary, and 1/2 c. of the fresh parmesan. Once the yeast mixture has got nice and bubbly, and it to the mixing bowl.

Slowly add the flour one cup at a time, until it comes together. Once you have added your 3rd cup of flour, add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time. Once it has come together, knead for 8-10 minutes. I let my dough hook do the work.

After 10 minutes, check your dough. Gently stretch it. If it rips easily, continue to knead. If you can get a good stretch out of it, it's ready. Set the dough in a greased bowl, covered, in a warm area to rise. Let rise about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Once it has doubled in size, punch the dough down.

Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each piece into an 18 inch rope. Cover the ropes in olive oil, except for the ends, then place them side by side on a greased cookie sheet, and braid. Press the ends together. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

Let rise for about 30 minutes, or until almost doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate in the middle of baking.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Hershey's Drops. Have you tried them? I LOVE them. They are one of my favorite candies.

We seem to always have a bag laying around.

Sometimes, it is the simplest recipes that are the best. What to do when you have extra candy laying around, just add it to Rice Krispie Bars! Remember my Overloaded Rice Krispie Bars? Well, these are super yummy too, but not so crazy sweet. With these Chocolatey Rice Krispie Bars, you CAN have two! Really... It's ok... Go ahead and have another one!

Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan, and set aside. Set aside 1 cup of the Hershey's Drops. Take remaining chocolate candies and rough chop for topping.

In large saucepan melt butter and the reserved 1 cup of Hershey's Drops over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies, stirring until coated. Pour into the prepared pan, and use buttered spatula or piece of wax paper, press evenly into pan.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Several of my friends lost a friend, very dear to them, this past December. I do not know how it is possible that I never had the privilege of meeting their friend, Mary, but our paths never crossed.

In June of 2011, Mary found out that she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She fought this Leukemia, and was in remission until late 2012 when she began having health concerns and found that it had returned. She passed away in December.

During a fund raiser that was being held for Mary, the family put together a cookbook of many family recipes. One of Mary's daughters is a baker, so the recipes for the cakes and other baked goods are said to be outstanding. My friend, Stacey, made sure that I got a copy of the cookbook! Stacey takes good care of her foodie friend!

I suppose you are wondering why I am sharing all of this. Well, in memory of Mary, Stacey is participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. She is riding with Team Minnesota in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe. This bike ride is 72 miles long! She has several different climbs in the ride, the most notable, are an 800 foot, and a 1,000 foot climb. These are all done at elevations not normal in Minnesota. Stacey is taking on quite a challenge in memory of her friend Mary, and I admire her so much for this! No matter how tough the training has been in preparation for this, she hasn't backed down. To help Stacey out with her fundraising, we are going to have an AMAZING EVENT going on here at the end of April, so make sure you are signed up for email and facebook to keep up to date! We will be having a bake sale and raffling off several prizes to raise money, to help my dear friend out with her cause.

In the mean time, I will be doing a series of posts this month out of Mary Swanson's Big Hearted Cookbook! There are so many recipes in here that I am excited to try!